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Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

Article in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery · October 2013

DOI: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2013.07.046

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 Ann Thorac Surg
2013;96:1533
REVIEW OF RECENT BOOKS
Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Fourth Edition
Edited by Constantine Mavroudis and Carl Backer
2013, Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, New Jersey
958 pp, illustrated, $299.95
ISBN: 978-1-4051-9652-9
Reviewed by Erle H. Austin, III, MD, Louisville, Kentucky
As the field of congenital heart surgery has matured over the past
30 years, the knowledge base required for the heart surgeon to
manage these often-complicated patients satisfactorily has
grown substantially. Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, created and
edited by Eduardo Arciniegas in 1985, was one of the first
textbooks directed specifically at this area of cardiac surgery.
Before a decade passed, Constantine Mavroudis and Carl
Backer assumed the editorial leadership and published the
second edition in 1994. To their credit, they have updated the
textbook diligently every 10 years. The fourth edition of
Pediatric Cardiac Surgery has just been published, and like prior
editions it will serve as an important resource for the
experienced or developing congenital heart surgeon.
The editors have retained the overall format of prior editions, with
a total 46 chapters related primarily to specific congenital heart
lesions. As before, this textbook is the product of multiple authors
whom the editors have selected based on their areas of expertise
and current contributions. The editors themselves authored many
of the chapters. Their involvement has helped to maintain a level
of consistency from chapter to chapter. For the most part, the
fourth edition of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery is a fresh and updated
look at the field with new authors for nearly half of the chapters.
New chapters in this edition include Hybrid Procedures for
Congenital Heart Disease and Ventricular to Pulmonary Artery
Conduits. Important chapters that were introduced in the third
edition—Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support and Adult
Congenital Heart Disease—have been updated by new authors.
Adding significantly to the level of consistency throughout this
Ó 2013 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Published by Elsevier Inc
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BOOK REVIEW 1533
edition are the illustrations. Although some of the drawings and
diagrams have been taken from peer-reviewed literature, the
majority of the illustrations in this edition, especially those
depicting surgical techniques, come from the hand of Rachid
Idriss, the remarkably gifted son of the late Farouk Idriss. His
clear depictions of anatomy and surgical technique are especially
valuable to the congenital heart surgeon, whose three-
dimensional understanding of the congenitally malformed heart
is key to a successful surgical procedure.
Of course, an honest review of this new edition must include a
few disappointments. A chapter on interventional cardiology was
not included in this edition and not adequately substituted by the
chapter on hybrid procedures. Interventional procedures are
playing an increasing role in the management of pediatric
cardiac patients, and those of us providing the surgical
procedures must be knowledgeable of what is being provided
by our colleagues and teammates. In addition, there were a few
questions that I hoped would be answered but were not. What
degree of subaortic stenosis in a patient with interrupted aortic
arch and ventricular septal defect warrants the Yasui
procedure? How does the surgeon decide between a modified
Blalock-Taussig shunt and a right ventricle–to–pulmonary
artery conduit for first stage palliation of hypoplastic left heart
syndrome? Regarding the second question, I was surprised that
the chapter authors, who were importantly involved in the
single ventricle reconstruction trial, did not cite the 2010 report
of the results of that trial or discuss its findings.
Overall, the strengths of the fourth edition far outweigh these
relatively minor weaknesses. I think that this textbook belongs on
the shelf of those of us who provide and teach pediatric heart
surgery and should be frequently opened and read by those
learning its science and craft. I extend my congratulations to
the editors for another successful edition and compliment them
on the decision to dedicate the royalties from its sale to the
Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education.
MISCELLANEOUS
Ann Thorac Surg 2013;96:1533  0003-4975/$36.00
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2013.07.046